Gender alert: Women as the face of a decade of protests around the world.
Sitting on the pavement of a shop in the chilly night, a woman held her child closely to give him warmth. I asked the woman the reason for her presence at the protest site in this biting cold. She looked at me for a second, at first sternly and then a little tenderly and said, “This is my home. This land, this street, the open sky above my head. For me, home is not an enclosed space made of bricks and cement, it is the place where I have grown, made some of my best memories and have lived my life to its fullest. This home of mine is at stake. It has been invaded by the people who want to disrupt peace and harmony of my home and I cannot let that happen”. She then looked at her child’s face and said “My child is 8 months old; I could have easily stayed at home but I chose to come to the protest site because I do not want my child to be homeless. If tomorrow my child asks me “Why didn’t I fight the people who were invading our home, what answer would I have?”
As soon as she finished, the child snuggled comfortably in his mother’s lap, looked at her and smiled as if showing his gratitude for the fight that she was waging against the invaders.
This is a story happening in one corner of the world but still echoes the spirit of the entire discourse of women voicing their concern and opinion against the injustice prevailing in the world. The women of today are no more going to be ignorant bystanders. They are going to be vocal, defined and ready to take charge of the world because the future is female. Women have taken to the streets and have taken the reign of their present and future in their hands. They are ready to exercise the power of their voice. Across the globe women have become the harbingers of change, inspiring one another.
The story was recorded by one of our team members who went to Shaheen Bagh, India to understand the great cause that moved women in hundreds to come together against a law. The anger in Shaheen Bagh, like elsewhere in the world, is palpable and vociferous. Their agitation nonetheless is organized and is determined to question injustice. Women doing a sit-in for twenty-four round seven is not a very common sight to the world. The cause of protests might differ but women coming together as the front face of protests, singlehandedly proves that no more will women stay quiet.
The face of change has changed and we have witnessed several cases where women are demonstrating their concern remarkably. And these demonstrations aren’t ordinary. Such beautiful moments of revolutions have gushed out in the past few years and we wait for a time where every woman will stand against injustice, no matter what the consequences be. She speaks because she understands. She speaks because she cares.
Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.